Bard College conferred degrees to more than 600 graduating students on Saturday. The commencement speaker was Megan J. Smith, the third U.S. chief technology officer from 2014 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.
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ANNANDALE — Having grown up in nearby Red Hook, Emma Donohue said graduating from Bard College felt like closing a chapter of her life that was longer than four years.

The 21-year-old picked the liberal arts school because of its drama program, but she said she also knew the school well, with a mother who’s a college employee and a childhood filled with the college’s soccer camps. Although life on the isolated campus was like a home away from home, there was still a level of familiarity, she said.

On Saturday, she joined more than 600 of her classmates in bidding the college farewell and setting on a new path.

Omar Shelley (right), of Las Vegas, receives comments about the sash he made to wear with his graduation gown and cap. He was part of The Orchestra Now master's degree program, and graduated on Saturday as part of the first class of Orchestra Now students to graduate. He plays the viola and will go back to Las Vegas to play with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal

Julia Tinney (left) helps those with a last name that begins with "T" organize in line as Brittany Tucker (right) looks on. Both graduated on Saturday along with more than 600 students. Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal

Donohue sees more school in her future to get a PHD, somewhere further away from home. She started at Bard interested in drama but ended up studying Russian and environmental studies.

“Right now I’m looking at environmental education positions,” said Donohue, who went to Red Hook High School and had family on campus watching. “It’s definitely been interesting and kind of weird to balance that this is where I grew but also this is a different part of my life.”

Bard conferred degrees to 469 undergraduate students and 164 graduate students on Saturday, and the focus was on what lies ahead for the class of 2018.

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Students wait in line Saturday for the Bard College commencement. Bard conferred degrees to more than 600 students.(Photo: Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal)

Underneath a massive white tent on the Seth Goldfine Memorial Rugby Field, graduates received their degrees as hundreds of family members and friends watched. The commencement speaker was Megan J. Smith, the third U.S. chief technology officer from 2014 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, who created the position. She helped to create federal policies on technology.

“As we move through the industrial age into the digital age, which you are entering and you are a big part of, it was very important to the president to add that capability to our government,” Smith said. “And so we began to work together.”

The commencement ceremony started with students lining up by their last name and then walking through campus to cheers from those in attendance. They wound up on the field, where more of their supporters were waiting.

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Megan J. Smith delivers the commencement address at Bard College on Saturday. She is the third U.S. chief technology officer.(Photo: Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal)

Mirian Barbosa, the mother of 21-year-old student body president Kevin Barbosa, was smiling through tears as the students walked in.

“A single mother, a hard worker, an immigrant — it’s an honor to see my second child graduating from Bard College,” said Barbosa, who was born in Brazil but raised her son in Manhattan. “My daughter also came here...you can’t imagine.”

College employees were also showing emotions on Saturday, saying goodbye to students they had helped.

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Bard College graduate Antonio Gansley-Ortiz, right, greets his former adviser, Truth Hunter. He credited her with helping him get to graduation.(Photo: Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal)

As 22-year-old graduating student Antonio Gansley-Ortiz, of Jacksonville, Florida, was walking through campus, he stopped to hug his former adviser, Truth Hunter, whom he credited with pushing him to get here.

“I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for her,” he said, “and some of the other great people at Bard College who have made that possible for me.”